Plow blade hoist with under-truck mount

ABSTRACT

A hoist assembly includes an arm disposed beneath a truck and protruding therefrom, a snowplow or other work member being mounted on the outer end of the arm, the other end of the arm being pivotally mounted to the underside of the truck, a motor, such as a hydraulic piston, mounted on the underside of the truck and connected to the arm by means of a link, whereby operation of the motor serves to raise and lower the snowplow.

United States Patent 1 Norgaard Nov. 6, 1973 PLOW BLADE HOIST WITH UNDER-TRUCK MOUNT [76] Inventor: Ronald Jack Norgaard, 2542 Spruce St., River Grove, Ill.

[22] Filed: Dec. 8, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 882,915

[52] US. Cl 37/41, 172/808, 280/460 A [51] Int. Cl E0lh 5/00 [58] Field of Search 172/808, 479, 490; 37/42 R, 41

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,642,294 6/1953 Holm 37/42 ux 3,214,138 10/1965 Jocher 37/42 R X 2,348,993 5/1944 Novotney 214/77 P 3,252,716 5/1966 Gaterman 172/808 X 2,542,047 2/1951 Mullin 214/77 P Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-:11 E Suter- V V Attorney-Prangley '7 57] ABSTRACT A hoist assembly includes an arm disposed beneath a truck'and protruding therefrom, a snowplow or other work member being mounted on the outer end of the arm, the other end of the arm being pivotally mounted to the underside of the truck, a motor, such as a hydraulic piston, mounted on the underside of the truck and connected to the arm by means of a link, whereby operation of the motor serves to raise and lower the snowplow.

1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures PMENIEDnnv 6 I915 3.769.724

INVENTOR RONA LD J. NORGAARD l & a 6 ATTORNEYS PLOW BLADE I'IOIST WITH UNDER-TRUCK MOUNT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past, apparatus for raising and lowering a snowplow or snowplow assembly has been mounted on the front of a truck. In addition to presenting a rather unattractive appearance, such a construction made it difficult to gain access to the motor of the type of truck using a hood that is opened by being tilted forwardly. Depending on the particular construction, the snowplow assembly might have to be removed each time the hood was opened which occurs at least once a day, and perhaps more often, to examine the oil Also, these prior art hoist assemblies utilized very little of the existing truck frame and were, therefore, bulky and costly because of the additional parts required. Further, such known hoist assemblies were so constructed that it was a very involved procedure to remove the snowplow from the truck.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a hoist assembly constructed so as to be mounted beneath the truck where it will'be concealed from view.

Another object is to provide a hoist assembly for the type of truck having a forwardly-tilting hood, so that, each time the hood is opened, the assembly need not be removed.

A still further object is to provide a hoist'assembly which is much less expensive than .the presentlyavailable assemblies, is smaller in size, and is of simpler construction.

In summary, there is provided a hoist assembly for raising and lowering a work member such as a snowplow carried by a truck, and comprising a main arm having first and second regions for disposition beneath the truck and a third region for disposition outwardly thereof, the first region being pivotally mounted in use to the underside of the truck, the third region being at-' tached in use to the snowplow, a motor mounted in use to the underside of the truck, and a link coupling the motor to the second region of the main arm, whereby the motor is operated to pivot the arm about the third region to raise or lower the snowplow.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear'as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features and construction, arrangement, and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed outin the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor detailsof the structure maybe made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of ing a forwardly-tilting hood, for which the hoist assembly of the present invention has particular use;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the hoist assembly constructedin accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the hoist assem- FIG. 4 is a view in vertical cross section of the hoist assembly of FIG. Ztaken'along the lines 4-4 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the means by which the motor arm is mounted to the truck frame;

FIG. 6 is'a perspective view of the means by which the link or cable is attached to the motoriarm; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the means by. which the hydraulic jack is pivotally mounted to the truck frame.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now the the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a truck 20 supported by a pairof wheels 21, and including a cab 22, a front bumper 23, and a hood 24 that is tiltable forwardly to expose the motor'25. ln the past, a snowplow assembly would be mounted on the front of the truck 20, so that it extended well above the bumper 23. In addition to presenting an unsightly appearance, it was cumbersome since it might have to be removed or at least moved each and every time the hood 24 was tilted to its open position. Since the hood vwould beopened once a day, and perhaps more, that type of hoist andsnowplow assembly was not suitable. I

Referring now to FIGS. 2 to 7, the details of construction of the hoist assembly of the present invention will be described in detail. The'truck 20 is supported by a frame 26 which is comprised of a pair of laterallyspaced-apart and longitudinally-extending channelshaped outer frame members 27 and a pair of laterallythe invention, there has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, and considered in connection with the following description, the inventions mode of construction, operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the type of truck havspaced-apart and longitudinally-extending inner frame members 28. Mounted on each of the frame members 28. is a bracket 29 for purposes to be explained hereinafter. The snowplow 30 which is to be mounted on the front of the truck 20 is shown som ewhat schematically in FIG. 4 and has on the backside thereof a pair of ,laterally spaced-apartbrackets 31 and a fastener '32'for mounting purposes. v

The hoist assembly embodying the novel construction of the present invention is designated by the numeral 40 and includes a pair of longitudinallyextending, laterally-spaced-apart main arms 41 each having a portion extending beneath the truck 20, and each respectively carried by one ofthe brackets 29. A pin 42 extends through each bracket 29, through the associated main arm 41, and is held in place by means of a clip 42a. Accordingly, eachmain arm 41 is removed merely by slipping off the clip' 42a followed by removalof the pin 42, a rather simple procedure. The other ends of the arms 41 are secured respectively to the sides of the snowplow 30 by means of a fastener 32 extending both through the bracket 31 and each arm 41. There is provided a crossbar 43 between the arms 41, to which the cable is connected. It is to be understood, however,-that other modes of interconnection are contemplated, whereby the one shown is not intended to be limiting.

Mounted on one of the frame members 27 is an L- shaped'bracket 44 composed of an attachment flange 45 and a support flange 46, the flange 45 being welded to the frame member 27 in such a manner that the flange 46 projects inwardly toward the other frame member 27. There is also provided a U-shaped bracket 47 disposed well forwardly of the'bracket 44 and including a pair of spaced-apart flanges 48 joined by a flange 49. The flange 49 is welded to the same frame member 27, so that the flanges 48 are directed inwardly toward the othe frame member 27.

The hoist assembly 40 further comprises a motor 50 which includes a motor arm 51 that is L-shaped in transverse cross section. The forward end of the arm 51 is provided with a V-shaped slot 52 for receiving a cable 70. The other end of the motor arm 51 is secured to the flange 46 by means of a pin 53. The pin 53 defines a vertical axis of rotation about which the motor arm 51 pivots. The motor 50 includes a means for moving the motor arm 51 about its vertical axis, such means in the instant embodiment being a hydraulic jack 60 including a cylinder 61 with a flattened extension 62 and a piston 64 with a flattened head 65. The extension 62 is secured between the flanges 48 of the U-shaped bracket 47 by means of a pin 63. The pin 63 defines a vertical axis about which the hydraulic jack 60 is rotatable. The head 65 is secured, by means of a pin 66, to the portion of the motor arm 51 close to the end thereof having a slot therein. The pin 66 defines a vertical axis about which both the motor arm 51 and the hydraulic jack 60 can pivot. It can be seen that the end of the motor arm 51 having the slot 52 therein moves in a substantially-horizontal plane in an are centered about the vertical axis defined .by the pin 53. This movement is effected by operating the hydraulic jack 60, so that its piston 64 is extended, whereupon the arm 51 and the rest of the parts will assume the position shown in phantom lines and by withdrawing the pin 63, in which case the motor arm 51 and the rest of the parts will assume the position shown in solid lines. The hydraulic jack- 60 is preferably connected by means of tubes 67 to a switch in the cab 22, to permit the driver v thereon by virtue of the lips 77.

to selectively admit or withdraw fluid from the cylinder 61, respectively to extend the piston 64 or withdraw it. The switch, for example, may have three positions labeled respectively up, down," and holdf In one of these positions, fluid is admitted into the cylinder 61; in thesecond position fluid is released therefrom; and, in the third position, the fluid is neither admitted nor released so as to hold the snowplow 30 its desired position.

The hoist assembly 40 also includes a link, which, in the form shown, is a cable 70 having a loop v71 on one end thereof. The loop 71 is. slipped into the V-shaped slot 52, whereupon, as long as tension is exerted on the cable 70, its connection to the motor arm 51 is maintained. The other end of the cable 70 extends through a hole in the crossbar 43 and is fastened-In this embodiment, it iscontemplated that the connection between the cable 70 and the arm 41 is a reasonablypermanent one, although this is not necessary. To remove the snowplow then, the user need only remove both clips 42a, withdraw the pins 42 to release the arms 41, and then slip the loop 71 out of the V-shaped slot 52. This is a procedure which is very simple and quick to be accomplished.

The hoist assembly 40 finally includes a shaft 75 which may simply be a hollow tube disposed generally normal to the frame members 27 and secured thereto toward the front of the truck 20, as shown. A roller 76 is carried by the shaft 75, so that it is rotatable thereon and axially movable therealong. The roller 76 has a pair of lips 77 to give it the appearance of a spool. The cable 70 extends over the top and front of the roller 76 and is disposed thereagainst, so as to convert the horizontal movement of the cable 70 created by the motor 50 into vertical movement, to raise and lower the snowplow 30.

In operation, when the user wants to raise the snowplow 30, he operates the switch provided in the cab 22 to admit (or withdraw, depending on the construction of the cylinder 61) fluid into the cylinder 61 to extend the'piston 64,s'o that the arm 51 assumes the position shown in phantom. Because the roller 76 is free to rotate on the shaft 75, a minimum amount of drag is provided. In addition, it may be seen that, because of the inherent construction of the motor 50, the free end of the arm 51 tends to move toward the left, as viewed in FIG. 2. Because the roller 76 is free to move axially, the cable 70 is always supported thereby and is maintained It is to be noted that the hoist assembly 40 is essentially flush with the frame 26 of the truck so as not to interfere with the proper operation of the truck when it is not used with the snowplow 30 or whatever work member that is contemplated. Also, the truck 20 essentially conceals and protects the hoist assembly 40. The hoist assembly 40 iseconomical since it utilizes several parts already available on the truck 20, such as the frame 26. Once the snowplow 30 is removed,,the truck 20 may be used for any other purpose desired without the hoist assembly 40 creating an unsightly appearance. Also, the hood 24 may be tilted to its open position without having to remove the hoist assembly. In addition, the number of parts, used has been minimized to achieve more reliable operation and to reduce the cost of the assembly.

The length of each of the main arms 41, the length of the cable 70, and the location at which the crossbar 43 is connected to the main arm 41 will, of course, de-

, termine thedistance the snowplow 30 can be raised..ln

an operative embodiment of the invention, it was possible to raise the snowplow 18 inches off the grolnd.

lt isbelieved that the invention,.its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and that it should also be manifest that, while a'preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes,

thestructural details, nevertheless, are capable of a wide variation within the purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed'is:

' l. A hoist assembly for raising and lowering a plow member carried by a truck adjacent to the front thereof and comprising at least one main arm having first and second regions for disposition beneath the truck and a third region for disposition forwardly of the truck,

means for pivotally and readily-removably mounted said first region to the underside of the truck, means for attaching said third region to the plow member, a motor mounted in use to the underside of the truck, said motor including a motor arm having first and second and third portions, said first portion being pivotally mounted in use to the underside of the truck about a substantially-vertical axis, a flexible link connected beable therealong, said roller carrying said link thereagainst to translate the horizontal movement of said motor arm into vertical movement of said main arm, whereby said motor is operative to pivot said arm about said first region to raise or lower the plow member. 

1. A hoist assembly for raising and lowering a plow member carried by a truck adjacent to the front thereof and comprising at least one main arm having first and second regions for disposition beneath the truck and a third region for disposition forwardly of the truck, means for pivotally and readily-removably mounted said first region to the underside of the truck, means for attaching said third region to the plow member, a motor mounted in use to the underside of the truck, said motor including a motor arm having first and second and third portions, said first portion being pivotally mounted in use to the underside of the truck about a substantially-vertical axis, a flexible link connected between said second portion of said motor arm and said second region of said main arm, operating means coupled to said third portion of said motor arm for pivotal movement thereof in a substantially horizontal plane, a shaft fixed in use to the underside of the truck, a roller rotatably mounted on said shaft and axially movable therealong, said roller carrying said link thereagainst to translate the horizontal movement of said motor arm into vertical movement of said main arm, whereby said motor is operative to pivot said arm about said first region to raise or lower the plow member. 